The purpose of this study was to comprehensively assess potential stressors during the divorce transition. Three dimensions of divorce-related stressors were examined: occurence, perceived disruptiveness, and area of life change. Survey data from a representative sample of 80 divorced parents were collected 6 to 12 months post decree. The divorce transition was characterized by both positive and negative experiences in which men and women generally reported similiar levels of stress associated with their divorce-related experiences. The findings also supported the importance of classifying experiences by the area of life change, and of examining the disruptiveness associated with the experiences in addition to the simple occurences of various life changes.
The twenty year history of the construct known variously as permanent availability, universal availability, and is traced to the present. Second, the latter construct is connected to the emerging research tradition that Holman and Burr label as the causes and consequences of divorce. Third, based on data collected from college students, an index of permanence/pragmatism in close relationship (PPCR) is constructed, and its reliability and validity established. Construct validity is ascertained empirically by identifying two dimenstions-religious devoutness and gender role preference- that the literature indicates should excercise influence on PPCR. Reliability of these patterns is enhanced through replication on a separate sample. A theoretical case is made for the index's predictive validity by showing its importance in research designs assessing dyadic commitment and stability/instability. The significance of the PPCR notion for both research and clinical applications is dis...
Examen des criteres utilises par les cours de justice pour determiner la garde des enfants de divorces. Differents types d'arrangements possibles pour la garde et historique des cadres legaux. Revue de litterature sur l'ajustement des enfants et leurs variables affectant leur developpement suite au divorce
An interview-based research project in which 40 re- turnees and their partners (initially intact couples) were surveyed separately over 8 years demonstrated that returning to study was a major life transition which brought with it opportunities for both considerable marital conflict and personal growth. However, contrary to some earlier investigations, it was revealed that wo- men's mature-age study was equally likely to be associated with: a breakdown; an enhancement; or no real change in the marriage rela- tionship. The present paper focuses on identifying the central pre- disposing factors which characterised those partnerships which even- tually deteriorated or ended in separation.
Mesure comparee de l'efficacite de «l'atelier de debut d'experience» (Beginning Experience workshop) dans la facilitation de l'ajustement au divorce (utilisation therapeutique de l'expression des sentiments). Evaluation de la validite de la Mesure de Distance Interpersonnelle comme mesure de l'adaptation au divorce. Comparaison entre le «BE workshop», le «Support workshop» et l'«Information Workshop»
One hundred and seven recently divorced men and . women completed a mailed questionnaire eliciting locus of control, difficulties, decision time, and divorce stress and adjustment. Public records were used to obtain demographic data. The path analysis derived final model suggests: (I) Locus of control is related to pre- decision stress, peak stress point, stress intensity, stress duration, and postdivorce stress and adjustment, but unrelated to decision time. (2) The relationship between locus of control and heavy stress chan es over time from an inverse to a direct relationship. (3) Com- pare f to women, men report less predecision stress, shorter predeci- sion periods, lower postdivorce adjustment, and more external Rot- ter Locus of Control scores. (4) Marriage length is directly related to decision time and stress duration, but inversely related to predeci- sion stress, point of peak stress, and postdivorce stress. (5) Childless couples report fewer difficulties, less postdecision stress, and shorter predecision intervals.
A review of divorce therapy literature suggests that ender is rarely considered when establishing therapeutic goals. This article posits that there are significant gender differences in the role and identity transitions which must take place in the divorce process. Divorce cannot be viewed in the limited context of interpersonal difficulties, but should be viewed as a process which is affected by gender, cultural socialization, and the broader society. Divorce therapy for women should incorporate an awareness of feminist issues and the nature of first and second order changes which are necessary if women are to grow and develop through the divorce process.
Children's emotional adjustment and behavior problems during divorce were predicted from both pre-separation (child attributes, marital conflict and parent-child closeness) and post-separation factors (loss of parent, changes, and parent-child relationship), utilizing path analysis. Children had poorer emotional adjustment and more behavior problems if they were older, had prior psychological problems, had parents with more marital conflict, and had more difficult relationships with their mothers. The effect of marital conflict was more indirect, though the mother-child relationship. The father-child relation ship appeared as a weak predictor only in the behavior problems model. Emotional adjustment was predicted most strongly by post-separation family relationships, while behavior problems were more strongly related to pre-separation factors. The findings suggest that interventions for children during the divorcing period should focus on empathic, warm
Presentation des facteurs de support social affectant l'ajustement post-divorce des personnes mariees depuis 15 ans ou plus. N=111 personnes d'un âge moyen de 56 ans. Evaluations par echelles
A sample of 77 children who had experienced a divorce in the family during childhood was identified in a group of 350 children who took part in a 18-year follow-up study on the Danish Prospective Perinatal Cohort. Reading and mathematics proficiency measures collected in the 11th and 12th grades were correlated with a set of eight measures derived from an intensive interview of the mothers designed to assess various potential stresses in the social/family environment. All zero-order correlations were in the expected direction indicating that stress is related to lower adolescent academic proficiency within this subsample. When controls were imposed for Socio-economic Status and Mother's educational Level, three maternal characteristics remained significant: discontentment, disorderliness and employment instability. Overall, the findings support the notion that improvement of the mother's adap-
Perspective theorique multiple du processus de prise de decision, menant au divorce, integrant les theories de l'echange social, de l'attachement et de la dissonance cognitive
The effects of a multirnodal group counseling inter- vention on children's beliefs about divorce, depression, and self- concept were tested with sixth graders. The experimental group im- proved significantly on beliefs, depression, and some aspects of self-concept.
Extending prior research on the intergenerational transmission process, we examine the influence of parental divorce and parental unhappiness on the marital and family relations of their adult offspring. Using interview data from a national sample of married persons, parental divorce, it is found, has little associaton with the various aspects of family relations examined. It does relate, however, to several dimensions of the adult offsprings' marriages. In contrast, marital unhappiness in the parental generation is strongly related to both the family and marital relations of their married children. The findings indicate that remaining in an unhappy marriage has many more adverse, and stonger, effects on the next generation than parental divorce does.
The present study investigated relationships between youths' self-reported delinquency and natural parents or stepparents. One-thousand-forty-one randomly selected male and female students completed the questionnaire. All were enrolled in grades 7-12 in an urban Southern California public school district and came from a variety of social class backgrounds. On the bivariate level, males with stepparents reported a slightly higher rate of more serious delinquency tan females. Family status was found to be interrelated with delinquency. However, when the youth-parent relations variable was added, the stepparent delinquency and social status variance were statistically non-significant. The multivariant analysis indicated the total amount of time spent weekly with parents was the strongest predictor of reduced delinquency, especially for males.
